Power management apparatus for managing system power including plurality of electronic devices, and operating

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a method of operating a power management device for controlling a state of a plurality of electronic devices included in a system. The method includes obtaining an activation request to activate at least one electronic device from among the plurality of electronic devices, predicting power consumption of the at least one electronic device, and determining schedule information to activate the at least one electronic device based on the predicted power consumption and current power consumption of the system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 365 and is a371 National Stage of International Application No. PCT/KR2016/007619,filed Jul. 13, 2016, which claims the benefit of British PatentApplication No. GB 1512244.3, filed Jul. 14, 2015 and Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2016-0088045, filed Jul. 12, 2016, the disclosures ofwhich are fully incorporated herein by reference into the presentdisclosure as if fully set forth herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

One or more embodiments relates to a power management device, and moreparticularly, to a method and device for power management of a systemincluding a plurality of electronic devices.

BACKGROUND

In a system such as a building or a home, various electronic devices areconnected to a single circuit and powered by a power supply. A user mayconnect a plurality of electronic devices to one power supply using anextended wire including a multi socket. In particular, when a pluralityof high power-consuming electronic devices simultaneously use power, thetotal power consumption may exceed a maximum power capacity of thesystem. If a protection device is not installed, the exceeding of themaximum power capacity of the system may cause damage to the electronicdevices and a power supply system of the system. Even when a protectiondevice such as a circuit breaker is installed, tripping of the circuitbreaker interrupts power supplied to the electronic devices connected tothe protection device. Thus, the exceeding of the maximum power capacityis a problem and causes inconvenience. A user is inconvenienced to reseta circuit breaker in order to supply power again to the electronicdevices included in the system. The above problems are expected to beexacerbated by so-called intelligent electronic devices, in which anactive or inactive state is switched remotely and independently bymultiple users in one system.

SUMMARY

Provided is a power management device for obtaining an activationrequest to activate at least one electronic device from among aplurality of electronic devices included in a system, predicting powerconsumption of the at least one electronic device corresponding to theactivation request, and determining schedule information to activate theat least one electronic device corresponding to the activation requestbased on the predicted power consumption and current power consumptionof the system, and a method of operating the same.

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, a method of operating apower management device for controlling a state of a plurality ofelectronic devices included in a system includes: obtaining anactivation request to activate at least one electronic device from amongthe plurality of electronic devices included in the system; predictingpower consumption of the at least one electronic device corresponding tothe activation request; and determining schedule information to activatethe at least one electronic device corresponding to the activationrequest based on the predicted power consumption and current powerconsumption of the system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a system including a power management device andelectronic devices, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an operation method of a power managementdevice, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, of determining schedule information, based on a priority,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, based on a usage history, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, of determining schedule information, based on a priority and ausage history, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, of updating schedule information, according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a view of a user interface screen provided by a powermanagement device, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view of a screen in which a power management deviceaccording to an example embodiment provides a user interface through amobile device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, of determining a defect in an electronic device included in asystem and providing notification information, according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary view of a system including a plurality of powermanagement devices.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a power management deviceaccording to an example embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a power management deviceaccording to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method of operating a power management device for controlling a stateof a plurality of electronic devices included in a system may include:obtaining an activation request to activate at least one electronicdevice from among the plurality of electronic devices included in thesystem; predicting power consumption of the at least one electronicdevice corresponding to the activation request; and determining scheduleinformation to activate the at least one electronic device correspondingto the activation request based on the predicted power consumption andcurrent power consumption of the system.

According to an example embodiment, if a sum of the predicted powerconsumption and the current power consumption of the system is greaterthan a predetermined threshold power, then the determining of theschedule information may inactivate at least one of active electronicdevices included in the system and activate the at least one electronicdevice corresponding to the activation request based on at least one ofa priority and a usage history of the plurality of electronic devices.

In addition, the determining of the schedule information may include:inactivating one of the active electronic devices by comparing apriority of the active electronic devices with a priority of the atleast one electronic device corresponding to the activation request;activating the at least one electronic device corresponding to theactivation request; predicting a time at which the at least oneelectronic device corresponding to the activation request is inactivatedbased on a usage history of the at least one electronic devicecorresponding to the activation request; and determining scheduleinformation to reactivate the inactivated electronic device according toa result of comparing the priorities by using the predicted time.

According to an example embodiment, when the system includes at leastone other power management device, the method of operating the powermanagement device for controlling the state of the plurality ofelectronic devices included in the system may further include: receivingpower consumption-related information of electronic devices managed bythe at least one other power management device from the at least oneother power management device, wherein the determining of the scheduleinformation may determine the schedule information based on powerconsumption of the electronic devices managed by the at least one otherpower management device, the predicted power consumption, and thecurrent power consumption of the system.

According to an example embodiment, the method of operating the powermanagement device for controlling the state of the plurality ofelectronic devices included in the system may further include:transmitting, to the at least one electronic device, a control signalfor activating the at least one electronic device, based on the scheduleinformation.

According to an example embodiment, the method of operating the powermanagement device for controlling the state of the plurality ofelectronic devices included in the system may further include:monitoring a variation of the current power consumption of the systemwhen the at least one electronic device is activated; comparing thevariation with the predicted power consumption; and determining whetherto update the schedule information according to a result of thecomparing.

According to an example embodiment, the method of operating the powermanagement device for controlling the state of the plurality ofelectronic devices included in the system may further include: comparingcurrent power consumption and average power consumption of the at leastone electronic device, determining occurrence of a defect in the atleast one electronic device according to a result of the comparing; andproviding notification information on the occurrence of a defectaccording to a result of the determining.

According to an example embodiment, when the system includes at leastone non-intelligent electronic device, the method of operating the powermanagement device for controlling the state of the plurality ofelectronic devices included in the system may further include: obtainingpower consumption of the non-intelligent electronic devices, and thedetermining of the schedule information may be based on the powerconsumption of the non-intelligent electronic devices, the predictedpower consumption, and the current power consumption of the system.

According to an example embodiment, the method of operating the powermanagement device for controlling the state of the plurality ofelectronic devices included in the system may further include: providinga user interface including the schedule information of the at least oneelectronic device corresponding to the activation request.

According to an example embodiment, the method of operating the powermanagement device for controlling the state of the plurality ofelectronic devices included in the system may further include: updatingthe schedule information in response to a user input through the userinterface.

A power management device for controlling a state of a plurality ofelectronic devices included in a system may include: a communicator forreceiving an activation request to activate at least one electronicdevice from among the plurality of electronic devices, and a controllerfor predicting power consumption of the at least one electronic device,and determining schedule information to activate the at least oneelectronic device based on the predicted power consumption and currentpower consumption of the system.

According to an example embodiment, if a sum of the predicted powerconsumption and the current power consumption of the system is greaterthan a predetermined threshold power, then the controller may determinethe schedule information that inactivate at least one of the activeelectronic devices included in the system and activate the at least oneelectronic device corresponding to the activation request based on atleast one of a priority and a usage history of the plurality ofelectronic devices.

In addition, the controller may compare a priority of the activeelectronic devices with a priority of the at least one electronic devicecorresponding to the activation request and thus inactivating oneelectronic device from among the active electronic devices; may activatethe at least one electronic device corresponding to the activationrequest; may predict a time at which the electronic device correspondingto the activation request is inactivated based on a usage history of theat least one electronic device corresponding to the activation request;and may determine schedule information to reactivate the inactivatedelectronic device according to a result of comparing the priorities byusing the predicted time.

According to an example embodiment, when the system includes at leastone other power management device, the communicator may receive powerconsumption-related information of electronic devices managed by the atleast one other power management device from the at least one otherpower management device, wherein the controller may determine theschedule information based on the power consumption of the electronicdevices managed by the at least one other power management device, thepredicted power consumption, and the current power consumption of thesystem.

According to an example embodiment, the controller may generate acontrol signal for activating the at least one electronic device basedon the schedule information, and the communicator may transmit thegenerated control signal to the at least one electronic device.

According to an example embodiment, the controller may monitor avariation of the current power consumption of the system when the atleast one electronic device is activated, may compare the variation ofthe power consumption with the predicted power consumption, and maydetermine whether to update the schedule information.

According to an example embodiment, the controller may determineoccurrence of a defect in the at least one electronic device bycomparing current power consumption and average power consumption of theat least one electronic device, and may generate notificationinformation on the occurrence of a defect according to a result of thedetermining. The power management device may further include a userinterface unit providing the notification information.

According to an example embodiment, when the system includes at leastone non-intelligent electronic device, the controller may obtain powerconsumption of the non-intelligent electronic devices, and may determinethe schedule information based on the power consumption of thenon-intelligent electronic devices, the predicted power consumption, andthe current power consumption of the system.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device mayfurther include a user interface unit providing the schedule informationof the at least one electronic device corresponding to the activationrequest.

According to an example embodiment, provided is a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program forexecuting a method of operating a power management device including:obtaining an activation request to activate at least one electronicdevice from among a plurality of electronic devices included in asystem, predicting power consumption of the at least one electronicdevice corresponding to the activation request, and determining scheduleinformation to activate the at least one electronic device correspondingto the activation request based on the predicted power consumption andcurrent power consumption of the system.

The disclosed example embodiments will be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings in such a manner that the example embodimentsmay be easily carried out by those of ordinary skill in the art. In thisregard, the present invention may have different forms and should not beconstrued as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Inaddition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions will beomitted for clarity and conciseness, and similar reference numerals areassigned to similar elements throughout the specification.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view of a system including a power management device andelectronic devices, according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, according to an example embodiment, a system 103includes electronic devices 102 and a power management device 100arranged in a predetermined space. For example, the system 103 mayinclude electronic devices and the power management device 100 arrangedin homes, offices, buildings, aggregate buildings, and the like.

According to an example embodiment, the system 103 may include a powersupply that provides power to the electronic devices 102. For example,the power supply may include a battery, a generator, and the like thatstore, process, and supply externally provided power. The system 103 mayprovide power to the electronic devices 102 through the power supply.For example, the electronic devices 102 may be powered directly from thepower supply, or may be powered through the power management device 100.

The electronic devices 102 may include, but are not limited to,household appliances such as display devices, computers, securitydevices, audio systems, refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers,and lighting control systems. For example, the electronic devices 102may include office equipment, public equipment, and the like.

According to an example embodiment, the electronic devices 102 mayinclude an intelligent electronic device and a non-intelligentelectronic device. Here, the intelligent electronic device may be anelectronic device whose state (e.g., an active or inactive state) can becontrolled by the power management device 100. The non-intelligentelectronic device may be an electronic device whose state cannot becontrolled by the power management device 100. For example, thenon-intelligent electronic device may not receive a control signal fromthe power management device 100.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 maycontrol a state of the electronic devices 102 based on power consumptionof the system 103. The power management device 100 may control the stateof the electronic devices 102 to maintain the power consumption of thesystem 103 within a predetermined range.

For example, the power management device 100 may obtain an activationrequest or inactivation request from the electronic devices 102 througha network 104. The power management device 100 may also generate acontrol signal for changing a state of an electronic device or a controlsignal including schedule information for changing a state of anelectronic device based on the power consumption of the system 103. Thepower management device 100 may control a state of the electronicdevices 102 by transmitting the generated control signals to theelectronic devices 102.

Alternatively, when the power supply supplies power to the electronicdevices 102 through the power management device 100, the powermanagement device 100 may include a control device (e.g., a switch,etc.) for controlling the power supplied to the electronic devices 102.The power management device 100 may control a state of the electronicdevices 102 by controlling the amount of power supplied to theelectronic devices 102 through the control device.

Alternatively, the power management device 100 may control a state ofthe electronic devices 102 by controlling a power supply control switchor the like provided in a smart outlet. The smart outlet may include acommunication device for receiving a control signal from the powermanagement device 100.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 mayuse power line communication (PLC) to remotely control a state of theelectronic devices 102. . The network 104 in the system 103 may beomitted.

The power management device 100 may be a mobile electronic device. Forexample, the power management device 100 may be a cellular phone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook computer, a tablet personalcomputer (PC), a wearable device, or other multi-functionalcommunication/entertainment device. Alternatively, the power managementdevice 100 may be a non-mobile electronic device connected to the powersupply and the electronic devices 102.

Meanwhile, the power management device 100 may be implemented in atleast one of the electronic devices 102. For example, a display 105 ofFIG. 1 may perform a function of the power management device 100 of thesystem 103.

According to an example embodiment, the system 103 may include aplurality of power management devices. For example, the plurality ofpower management devices included in the system 103 may control a stateof the electronic devices 102 in a hierarchy in which the powermanagement device 100 includes at least one sub-power management device.Alternatively, the plurality of power management devices included in thesystem 103 may control a state of an electronic device in a distributedmanner in an Internet of Things (IoT) environment.

The network 104 may be implemented in a wired network such as a localarea network (LAN), or any type of wireless network such as a mobilecommunication network, a Wi-Fi, or a satellite communication network.For example, the network 104 may include ZigBee communications,Bluetooth communications, or ultra-wideband (UWV) communications. Inaddition, the network 104 may include an IoT environment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an operation method of a power managementdevice, according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, in operation 202, the power management device 100obtains an activation request to activate at least one electronic devicefrom among the plurality of electronic devices 102 included in thesystem 103. Here, the activation may be to change a state of the atleast one electronic device in an inactive state to an active state.

The state of the electronic device may be classified into G0 (inoperation), G1 (standby mode), G2 (soft termination), and G3 (mechanicaltermination) states according to an advanced configuration and powerinterface (ACPI) specification. The active state may correspond to theG0 state, and the inactive state may correspond to the G1, G2, or G3state, respectively.

In more detail, the active state may include a state in which theelectronic device is turned on, or the G0 state in which some functionsof the electronic device is in operation. For example, an active stateof a display may be a state of reproducing video and/or audio content.In addition, the inactive state may include a state in which theelectronic device is turned off and thus consumes no power at all (e.g.,the G3 state), the G2 state, or the G1 state. For example, an inactivestate of a display may be a power-off state or a hibernation state.

Furthermore, an activation request to the power management device 100may be obtained from the power management device 100 or the electronicdevices 102 included in the system 103. For example, the activationrequest may be a control signal (or data) transmitted from one of theelectronic devices 102 to the power management device 100 based on auser input entered into the one electronic device. Alternatively, theactivation request may be obtained through a user interface provided bythe power management device 100.

Alternatively, the power management device 100 may obtain an activationrequest from an electronic device (not shown) outside the system 103.Here, the electronic device outside the system 103 may be previouslyregistered in the power management device 100 and may provide a userinterface for controlling the power management device 100. For example,an external electronic device may send an activation request to thepower management device 100 based on a user input entered through a userinterface.

In operation 204, the power management device 100 predicts powerconsumption of at least one electronic device. The at least oneelectronic device may be at least one electronic device corresponding tothe activation request.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 maypredict the power consumption of the at least one electronic devicecorresponding to the activation request based on a usage history of theelectronic device. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, thepower consumption predicted by the power management device 100 isreferred to as a ‘predicted power consumption’.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 maymonitor power consumption and power usage time of the electronic devices102. For example, the power management device 100 may monitor currentpower consumption of the system 103, current power consumption perelectronic device, peak power consumption, time to activate (orinactivate) an electronic device, and so on. In addition, the powermanagement device 100 may analyze the monitored information and obtain ausage history of the electronic devices 102. For example, the powermanagement device 100 may analyze the monitored information to obtainaccumulated power consumption of a system and an electronic device,average power consumption, power consumption per hour, latest usage timeper electronic device, average usage time, and so on. In addition, thepower management device 100 may store and/or manage information on theobtained usage history.

The power management device 100 may use average power consumption andaverage usage time of an electronic device for a predetermined period todetermine predicted power consumption of an electronic device obtainedan activation request. For example, when an activation request for adisplay is obtained, the power management device 100 may determinepredicted power consumption of the display using average powerconsumption and average usage time of the display for one week.

Meanwhile, in the above description, the power management device 100monitors power consumption and power usage time of the electronicdevices 102, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Forexample, the power management device 100 may receive power consumptionand power usage time monitored by a power supply, a smart outlet, or theelectronic devices 102.

Furthermore, according to an example embodiment, the power managementdevice 100 may determine predicted power consumption of an electronicdevice using a look-up table stored in or outside the power managementdevice 100. The look-up table may include an identification value,average power consumption, average usage time, and the like of theelectronic devices 102. In addition, the look-up table may be updated atregular time intervals (e.g., 24 hour intervals, weekly intervals,etc.). Thus, once the activation request is obtained, the powermanagement device 100 may determine predicted power consumption of anelectronic device corresponding to the activation request by accessingthe look-up table.

Alternatively, the power management device 100 may receive predictedpower consumption from the electronic device corresponding to theactivation request. For example, an activation request received by thepower management device 100 from a display may include a predicted powerconsumption value of the display.

Meanwhile, the power management device 100 may update predicted powerconsumption each time an activation request is obtained. Therefore, theupdated predicted power consumption may exclude predicted powerconsumption of an electronic device that has been activated at the timeof updating.

If power consumption of the system 103 exceeds the amount of powerprovided from the outside, a power supply may shut off power supplied tothe system 103. Accordingly, the power management device 100 may performan operation to control a state (e.g., an active or inactive state) ofan electronic device that transmitted an activation or inactivationrequest to prevent the power supply from the shutting off power supply.

In operation 206, the power management device 100 determines scheduleinformation to activate at least one electronic device based onpredicted power consumption and current power consumption of the system103. The at least one electronic device may be at least one electronicdevice corresponding to the activation request. Furthermore, the currentpower consumption of the system 103 may be real-time power consumptionconsumed by the electronic devices 102 of the system 103.

In addition, the schedule information may include at least one ofinformation about an order and information about a time of activatingelectronic devices corresponding to an activation request.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 maycompare total power consumption, which is a sum of the current powerconsumption of the system 103 and the predicted power consumption, withthreshold power. The threshold power may be determined according to atleast one of a maximum power capacity indicating maximum power suppliedfrom the outside to the system 103 and a safety index.

When the total power consumption of the system 103 exceeds the thresholdpower, the power management device 100 may determine scheduleinformation that inactivates an active electronic device included in thesystem 103 and activates an electronic device corresponding to anactivation request, based on at least one of a priority and the usagehistory of the electronic devices 102.

For example, the power management device 100 may compare a priority of afirst electronic device corresponding to an activation request with apriority of active electronic devices, and may determine scheduleinformation that inactivates a second electronic device having a lowerpriority than the first electronic device and activates the firstelectronic device from among the active electronic devices. If thepriority of the active electronic devices is equal to the priority ofthe first electronic device, then the power management device 100 maydetermine schedule information that inactivates a third electronicdevice having the longest average usage time from among the activeelectronic devices and activates the first electronic device, based on ausage history of the active electronic devices.

Alternatively, when an activation request is obtained from two or moreelectronic devices having the same priority, the power management device100 may determine schedule information to activate one of the electronicdevices first, according to a usage history of the electronic devicesfrom which the activation request is obtained. For example, based onaverage power consumption of each electronic device, the powermanagement device 100 may determine schedule information that firstactivates an electronic device with the smallest average powerconsumption. Alternatively, when an activation request is obtained fromtwo or more electronic devices having the same priority, the powermanagement device 100 may determine schedule information that firstactivates an electronic device with the shortest average usage timebased on average usage time of the electronic devices. A method ofdetermining schedule information by the power management device 100 willbe described in detail later below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

Furthermore, the power management device 100 may also control a state(e.g., an active or inactive state) of the electronic devices 102 in thesystem 103, based on schedule information. According to an exampleembodiment, the power management device 100 may control a state of theelectronic devices 102 by transmitting a control signal to theelectronic devices 102, based on the schedule information.Alternatively, the power management device 100 may control a state ofthe electronic devices 102 by transmitting a control signal to a smartoutlet or a power supply, based on the schedule information.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 mayprovide a user interface including schedule information. Furthermore,the power management device 100 may update, change, and delete theschedule information in response to a user input through the userinterface.

Meanwhile, when total power consumption of the system 103 is equal to orless than threshold power of the system 103, the power management device100 may transmit a control signal, which activates a state of anelectronic device corresponding to an activation request, to theelectronic device.

Meanwhile, when the system 103 includes at least one non-intelligentelectronic device according to an example embodiment, the powermanagement device 100 may control a state of the non-intelligentelectronic device using a control device, such as a smart outlet or aswitch connected to a power supply. The controlling of a state of thenon-intelligent electronic device may mean that the power managementdevice 100 controls the amount of power supplied to the non-intelligentelectronic devices using the control device. The power management device100 may perform operations 202 to 206 to shut off or supply power to thenon-intelligent electronic device according to the schedule information.

Alternatively, according to an example embodiment, if the powermanagement device 100 does not include a control device for controllingpower supplied to non-intelligent electronic devices, the powermanagement device 100 may assume the non-intelligent electronic devicesto be in an active state. Thus, in operation 206, the power managementdevice 100 may determine schedule information based on predicted powerconsumption, the current power consumption of the system 103, andaverage power consumption of the non-intelligent electronic devices.Meanwhile, the average power consumption of the non-intelligentelectronic devices may be monitored by the power management device 100.As such, the power management device 100 may prevent the powerconsumption of the system 103 from exceeding threshold power even whenthe system 103 cannot directly control a state of an electronic device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, of determining schedule information, based on a priority,according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, in operation 302, the power management device 100may determine whether total power consumption exceeds threshold power.The total power consumption may be a sum of predicted power consumptionof an electronic device corresponding to an activation request and thecurrent power consumption of the system 103.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 maydetermine the threshold power based on at least one of a maximum powercapacity of the system 103 and a safety index. The maximum powercapacity may be obtained from a power supply or an external server(e.g., a server operated by the power management corporation). Thesafety index may be a default value set in the power management device100 or a value determined by a user input.

For example, when the safety index is 10%, the power management device100 may determine 90% of the maximum power capacity of the system 103 asthe threshold power. According to an example embodiment, when a powersupply includes a protection device such as a circuit breaker or a fuse,the maximum power capacity may have a value at which a function of theprotection device is activated.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 maydetermine threshold power according to a user input. According to anexample embodiment, the power management device 100 may provide a userinterface that determines the threshold power. Alternatively, the powermanagement device 100 may also receive threshold power determined by auser input received from another electronic device.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 maycompare total power consumption with threshold power to determinewhether the total power consumption exceeds the threshold power.

If the total power consumption exceeds the threshold power, the powermanagement device 100 may compare a priority of active electronicdevices with a priority of an electronic device corresponding to anactivation request.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 mayallocate priorities to the electronic devices 102 included in the system103 based on a predetermined criterion. For example, the powermanagement device 100 may allocate priorities according tocharacteristics of the system 103, frequency of obtaining an activationrequest per electronic device, preference of an electronic deviceaccording to a user input, characteristics of an electronic device, afunction of an electronic device, average power consumption of anelectronic device, or a combination thereof. The characteristics of thesystem may include information about an environment in which the systemis located (e.g., a house, a kitchen, a company, etc.). Furthermore, thecharacteristics of the electronic device may include information onwhether or not an active electronic device can be changed to an inactiveelectronic device during a predetermined operation.

For example, the power management device 100 may allocate priorities tothe electronic devices 102 according to the characteristics of thesystem 103. If the system 103 is located in a home, the power managementdevice 100 may allocate a high priority (e.g., a first rank) to ahousehold appliance such as a dishwasher or a washing machine.Meanwhile, if the system 103 is located in an office, the powermanagement device 100 may allocate a low priority (e.g., a tenth rank)to the household appliance.

Alternatively, the power management device 100 may allocate prioritiesaccording to functions of the electronic devices 102. For example, thepower management device 100 may allocate an identical priority (e.g., athird order) to a dishwasher and a washing machine since the dishwasherand the washing machine have the same cleaning function.

In operation 304, the power management device 100 may compare a priorityof active electronic devices with a priority of an electronic devicecorresponding to an activation request, based on a predeterminedpriority. For example, the power management device 100 may compare apriority of the active washing machine with a priority of a display,which is an electronic device corresponding to an activation request.

In operation 306, the power management device 100 may determine scheduleinformation to activate the electronic device corresponding to theactivation request based on a result of comparing the priorities inoperation 304.

According to an example embodiment, if a priority of an active secondelectronic device is lower than a priority of a first electronic devicecorresponding to an activation request, the power management device 100may determine schedule information that inactivates the secondelectronic device having a lower priority. For example, when thepriority of the display, which is an electronic device corresponding toan activation request, is ‘first rank’ and the priority of the activewashing machine is ‘third rank’, the power management device 100 mayinactivate the washing machine and determine schedule information toactivate the display.

Meanwhile, the power management device 100 may update the scheduleinformation each time a new activation request is obtained. For example,the power management device 100 may obtain an activation request for adisplay having a higher priority than that of the dishwasher when anactivation request for the dishwasher is pending according to theschedule information. The power management device 100 may update theschedule information to determine schedule information to activate thedisplay first.

Meanwhile, if the total power consumption is equal to or less than thethreshold power in operation 302, the power management device 100 maytransmit to each electronic device a control signal that sequentiallyactivates electronic devices corresponding to an activation requestaccording to a priority.

As described above, the power management device 100 may determineschedule information for efficiently performing a function of ahigh-priority electronic device without exceeding the maximum powercapacity of the system 103.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, of determining schedule information, based on a usage history,according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the power management device 100 may predict a timeat which active electronic devices are inactivated based on a usagehistory of the active electronic devices and may determine scheduleinformation including the predicted time information.

In operation 402, the power management device 100 may determine whethertotal power consumption of the system 103 exceeds threshold power. Sincean example embodiment of operation 302 of FIG. 3 may be applied tooperation 402, a detailed description thereof will not be given herein.

If the total power consumption exceeds the threshold power, then inoperation 404, the power management device 100 may predict the time atwhich the active electronic devices are inactivated based on the usagehistory of the active electronic devices.

As described above in FIG. 2, the usage history may include averageusage time, average power consumption, and latest usage start time.

The power management device 100 may obtain relationship informationamong electronic devices, state information of electronic devices bytime, time information at which electronic devices are activated, andthe like, based on the usage history of the electronic devices. Therelationship information among electronic devices may indicate arelationship in which, when an electronic device is inactivated, anotherelectronic device is activated.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 maypredict the time at which active electronic devices are inactivatedbased on the state information of electronic devices by time. Forexample, with respect to a washing machine becoming active from 10 pm,the power management device 100 may predict that the active washingmachine will be inactivated at 11 pm based on state information of thewashing machine by time.

Alternatively, the power management device 100 may predict the time atwhich the active electronic device is inactivated based on the averageusage time per electronic device and the latest usage start time. Forexample, the power management device 100 may predict that the activewashing machine will be inactivated at 11:20 pm based on average usagetime(e.g., 30 minutes) and latest usage start time(e.g., 10:40 pm) of avacuum cleaner.

In operation 406, the power management device 100 may determine scheduleinformation including information about the time at which the activeelectronic device is inactivated.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 mayselect one of active electronic devices and determine scheduleinformation to activate an electronic device corresponding to anactivation request when the selected electronic device is predicted tobe inactivated. The power management device 100 may select one of theactive electronic devices by comparing a time at which active electronicdevices are predicted to be inactivated with current time.

For example, when an activation request is obtained from a display at10:50 pm, the power management device 100 may compare a time at whichactive washing machine and vacuum cleaner are predicted to beinactivated with current time (i.e., 10:50 pm). In addition, the powermanagement device 100 may inactivate the washing machine at 11 pm anddetermine schedule information to activate the display at 11 pm. Also,according to the schedule information, the power management device 100may transmit a control signal to the washing machine to change thewashing machine to an inactive state at 11 pm, and transmit a controlsignal to the display to change the display to an active state.

Meanwhile, the power management device 100 may provide a user interfaceincluding schedule information for inactivating the washing machine at11 pm and activating the display at 11 pm. The power management device100 may change the schedule information to inactivate the washingmachine at 11:10 pm and activate the display at 11:10 pm in response toa user input to the user interface.

Meanwhile, if the total power consumption is equal to or less than thethreshold power in operation 402, the power management device 100 maytransmit a control signal to activate an electronic device correspondingto the activation request to the electronic device.

Meanwhile, in the above description, the power management device 100determines the schedule information by predicting the time at which theactive electronic device is inactivated, but the present invention isnot limited thereto. According to an example embodiment, the powermanagement device 100 may determine the schedule information based on arelationship between the active electronic device and the electronicdevice corresponding to the activation request.

For example, based on average power consumption of each electronicdevice, the power management device 100 may determine scheduleinformation to inactivate an active lighting device and activate asecurity device based on a relationship between the lighting device andthe security device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, of determining schedule information, based on a priority and ausage history, according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, in operation 502, the power management device 100may compare a priority of active electronic devices with a priority ofat least one electronic device corresponding to an activation requestand thus inactivate one electronic device from among the activeelectronic devices.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 mayextract electronic devices having lower priority than a first electronicdevice corresponding to the activation request from among the activeelectronic devices. In addition, the power management device 100 mayinactivate a second electronic device having the lowest priority fromamong the extracted electronic devices. For example, the powermanagement device 100 may generate a control signal that inactivates thesecond electronic device, and may transmit the generated control signalto the second electronic device. For example, when an activation requestfor a display is obtained, the power management device 100 mayinactivate a vacuum cleaner having lower priority than the display fromamong the active electronic devices.

In operation 504, the power management device 100 may transmit a controlsignal to an electronic device corresponding to the activation request,to activate the electronic device corresponding to the activationrequest.

According to an example embodiment the power management device 100 maygenerate a control signal to activate the first electronic devicecorresponding to the activation request, and may transmit the generatedcontrol signal to the first electronic device. For example, the powermanagement device 100 may transmit an activation control signal to thedisplay.

In operation 506, the power management device 100 may predict a time atwhich the electronic device corresponding to the activation request isinactivated based on a usage history of the electronic devicecorresponding to the activation request. For example, the powermanagement device 100 may predict the time at which the electronicdevice is inactivated based on state information of electronic devicesby time, average usage time for each electronic device, or latest usagestart time.

For example, the power management device 100 may predict that thedisplay will be inactivated after a predetermined time (or at a specifictime) based on usage time information for each electronic device of thedisplay.

In operation 508, the power management device 100 may determine scheduleinformation to reactivate an inactivated electronic device according toa result of comparing the priorities based on information on thepredicted time.

According to an example embodiment, the power management device 100 maydetermine schedule information to reactivate the inactivated electronicdevice in operation 502 at the time predicted in operation 506. Forexample, the power management device 100 may determine scheduleinformation to reactivate the vacuum cleaner at the time when thedisplay is predicted to be inactive.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, of updating schedule information, according to an exampleembodiment.

In operation 602, the power management device 100 may transmit a controlsignal to at least one electronic device, to activate the at least oneelectronic device based on the schedule information.

In operation 604, the power management device 100 may monitor the amountof change in power consumption of the system 103.

For example, the power management device 100 may determine a differencein power consumption of the system 103 before and after activation of atleast one electronic device as the amount of change in power consumptionof the system 103.

In operation 606, the power management device 100 may compare the amountof change in the power consumption of the system 103 with predeterminedpredicted power consumption.

For example, the power management device 100 may compare the predictedpower consumption determined in operation 204 of FIG. 2 with the amountof change in the power consumption of the system to determine scheduleinformation of an electronic device.

For example, after transmitting the control signal to the display, thepower management device 100 may compare the predetermined predictedpower consumption with the difference in power consumption of the system103 before and after activation of the display.

In operation 608, the power management device 100 may determine whethera result of the comparing is within a predetermined range. For example,the predetermined range may be an error range (for example, +10% to−10%) with respect to the predicted power consumption. However, thepresent invention is not limited thereto, and the power managementdevice 100 may determine the predetermined range based on a defaultvalue stored in the power management device 100 or a value set by auser.

If a result of the comparing is out of the predetermined range, inoperation 610, the power management device 100 may update the scheduleinformation.

FIG. 7 is a view of a user interface screen provided by the powermanagement device 100, according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, the power management device 100 may provide a userinterface 700 that includes information 701 on a current state of anelectronic device in the system 103. For example, the information 701 onthe current state of the electronic device may include an imageindicating that a refrigerator and a display are active and a washingmachine and a dishwasher are inactive.

In addition, the user interface 700 may include icons 711 to 714 thatintuitively indicate the electronic devices 102, respectively. The powermanagement device 100 may determine schedule information for changing astate of the electronic devices 102 corresponding to the icons 711 to714 in response to a user input to the icons 711 to 714. For example,when a user input to the icon 711 of the display is received, the powermanagement device 100 may determine schedule information for activatinga state of the display.

In addition, the user interface 700 may include a ‘schedule information’button image 702 for providing schedule information. When a user inputto the ‘schedule information’ button image 702 is received, the powermanagement device 100 may provide a text, an image, animation, or thelike indicating the schedule information to a user. For example, thepower management device 100 may provide a user with information about anidentification value, a priority, an activation (or inactivation) orderor time, etc. of an electronic device corresponding to an activationrequest.

Furthermore, the user interface 700 may include an ‘activation requestlist’ button image 703 for providing information about electronicdevices that transmitted the activation request. When a user input to an‘activation request list’ button image 703 is received, the powermanagement device 100 may provide an activation request list. Theactivation request list may include, for example, obtained time of anactivation request for a predetermined period, and an identificationvalue of an electronic device that transmitted the activation request.In addition, the activation request list may provide a list ofelectronic devices that have transmitted activation requests by date,and may provide a list of electronic devices that are awaitingactivation.

Furthermore, the user interface 700 may further include an ‘electronicdevice information’ button image 704 for providing information aboutelectronic devices in the system 103. When a user input to the‘electronic device information’ button image 704 is received, the powermanagement device 100 may provide a text, an image, animation, or thelike indicating information such as a start date of use, a usage period,power consumption efficiency, a life span, etc. of the electronicdevices 102 included in the system 103.

Moreover, the user interface 700 may further include an ‘electronicdevice power consumption’ button image 705 for providing information onpower consumption per electronic device. The power management device 100may provide information related to power consumption of the electronicdevices 102 included in the system 103 when a user input to the‘electronic device power consumption’ button image 705 is received. Forexample, the power management device 100 may provide a text, an image,animation, or the like indicating information such as average powerconsumption, average consumption time, and the like for a predeterminedperiod of each of the electronic devices 102 through the user interface700.

According to an example embodiment, the user interface 700 may beprovided from an external server (e.g., a cloud server, a web server,etc.). In addition, the user interface 700 may be provided in the formof a downloadable mobile application. Alternatively, the user interface700 may be provided through the display in the power management device100.

FIG. 8 is a view of a screen in which a power management deviceaccording to an example embodiment provides a user interface through amobile device.

Referring to FIG. 8, the power management device 100 may provide aschedule information window 810 of the electronic devices 102 includedin the system 103 through a mobile device 800. For example, the powermanagement device 100 may transmit schedule information to the mobiledevice 800 to allow the mobile device 800 to provide a scheduleinformation window 801 including the schedule information.

According to an example embodiment, the schedule information window 810may include at least one of an identification value 811, a priority 815,an operation 812, an operation order 813, and operation time 814 of anelectronic device. The identification value 811 of the electronic devicemay be a text, an image, or the like indicating a name or ID (e.g., thenumber ‘1’) of the electronic device. For example, in FIG. 8, a‘computer’ 823 indicates an identification value 823 of a computerdevice.

For example, the schedule information window 810 may provideidentification information 822 of a washing machine, a priority 842 ofthe washing machine, and schedule information 832 indicating that thewashing machine will be ‘inactivated’ in a ‘first’ order.

Furthermore, the schedule information window 810 may provide theidentification value 823 of the computer device, a priority 843 of thecomputer device, and schedule information 833 indicating that thecomputer device will be ‘inactivated’ in a ‘second’ order.

In addition, the schedule information window 810 may provideidentification value 824 of a refrigerator, a priority 844 of therefrigerator, and schedule information 834 indicating that therefrigerator will be ‘inactivated’ in a ‘third’ order.

Furthermore, the schedule information window 810 may provide scheduleinformation 835 indicating that the washing machine will be ‘activated’again at ‘14:00’ in a ‘fourth’ order.

Meanwhile, the schedule information window 810 in FIG. 8 may be a text,an image, or animation provided on a screen converted by the user inputto the ‘schedule information’ button image 702 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method, performed by a power managementdevice, of determining a defect in an electronic device included in asystem and providing notification information, according to an exampleembodiment.

In operation 902, the power management device 100 may transmit a controlsignal to activate at least one electronic device based on obtainedschedule information.

In operation 904, the power management device 100 may compare currentpower consumption and average power consumption of each electronicdevice.

According to an example embodiment the power management device 100 mayobtain the current power consumption of each electronic device bymonitoring power consumption of each electronic device. Furthermore, thepower management device 100 may obtain the average power consumption ofeach electronic device based on a usage history.

In operation 906, the power management device 100 may determine whetherthere is a defect in at least one electronic device based on a result ofthe comparing.

For example, the power management device 100 may determine whether anactive electronic device consumes too much or too little power based ona result of the comparing. For example, the power management device 100may determine that the electronic device is defective if a differencebetween current power consumption and average power consumption of anelectronic device exceeds a threshold (e.g., about 0.5 times averagepower consumption).

If it is determined that the electronic device is defective, inoperation 908, the power management device 100 may provide visual orauditory notification information to indicate that the electronic deviceis defective. For example, notification information may include a pop-upmessage, a notification message, a warning sound, vibration, and thelike.

Furthermore, the power management device 100 may provide defectinformation of an electronic device through a user interface. Forexample, the power management device 100 may provide a graphical userinterface (GUI) indicating a defective electronic device, defectdetails, and the like. In addition, the power management device 100 maytransmit defect information to a server providing a maintenance serviceproviding server (e.g., an A/S reception server, etc.) of an electronicdevice in response to a user input to the GUI.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary view of a system including a plurality of powermanagement devices.

Referring to FIG. 10, according to an example embodiment, the system 103may include a plurality of power management devices. Furthermore, aplurality of power management devices may be implemented in ahierarchical structure. The system 103 may include a power managementdevice 100 located in an upper layer and first to third sub-powermanagement devices 1011, 1012, and 1013 located in a lower layer.

The first to third sub-power management devices 1011 to 1013 may obtaininformation related to power consumption of some electronic devices ofthe system 103, and may transmit the power consumption-relatedinformation of the obtained electronic devices to the power managementdevice 100. In addition, the power management device 100 may determineschedule information using power consumption-related information 1021 ofelectronic devices received from the first to third sub-power managementdevices 1011 to 1013. Furthermore, the power management device 100 maytransmit a control signal 1022 according to the schedule information tothe first to third sub-power management devices 1011 to 1013 through thenetwork 104.

If the system 103 is a single building according to an exampleembodiment, the first sub-power management device 1011, the secondsub-power management device 1012, and the third sub-power managementdevice 1013 may be arranged for each floor of the building, and thepower management device 100 may be arranged for controlling powerconsumption of the entire building system 103. Also, the powermanagement device 100 may perform a gateway function in an IoTenvironment.

Meanwhile, a plurality of power management devices may not beimplemented in a hierarchical structure. In this case, the powermanagement device 100 may exchange power consumption-related informationof some electronic devices in the system 103 controlled by other powermanagement devices with other power management devices through thenetwork 104. In addition, the power management device 100 may requestanother power management device to transmit power consumption-relatedinformation of electronic devices controlled by other power managementdevices through the network 104. For example, the powerconsumption-related information may include schedule information ofelectronic devices, monitored power consumption, state information(e.g., an active or inactive state) of an electronic device, and a usagehistory of an electronic device. Further, the power management device100 may determine schedule information based on power-relatedinformation received from another power management device.

Meanwhile, the power management device 100 may detect whether anotherpower management device exists in the system 103. For example, the powermanagement device 100 may broadcast a signal (e.g., a beacon signal)that detects another power management device. In addition, the powermanagement device 100 may obtain a signal broadcasted by another powermanagement device. Alternatively, communication between the powermanagement device 100 and another power management device may beperformed in a distributed manner in an IoT environment.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are configuration diagrams of a power management deviceaccording to an example embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the power management device 100 includes acontroller 11 and a communicator 12.

However, not all components shown in FIG. 11 are necessary components ofthe power management device 100. That is, the power management device100 may include more or less components than the components shown inFIG. 11.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the power management device 100according to an example embodiment may further include a user interfaceunit 13 and an output unit 14 in addition to the controller 11 andcommunicator 12.

The controller 11 may control general operations of the power managementdevice 100. According to an example embodiment, the controller 11 maycontrol the communicator 12, the user interface unit 13, and the outputunit 14 to activate or inactivate a state of the electronic devices 102included in the system 103.

In more detail, the controller 11 may obtain an activation request of anelectronic device through the communicator 12 or the user interface unit13. Also, the controller 11 may predict power consumption of anelectronic device corresponding to the activation request. For example,the controller 11 may determine the predicted power consumption based ona usage history of the electronic device corresponding to the activationrequest. The controller 11 may monitor power consumption, power usagetime, and the like of the electronic devices 102. In addition, thecontroller 11 may analyze the monitored information to obtain a usagehistory of the electronic devices 102.

In addition, the controller 11 may determine schedule information toactivate at least one electronic device corresponding to an activationrequest based on predicted power consumption of the at least oneelectronic device corresponding to the activation request and currentpower consumption of the system 103. For example, the controller 11 maydetermine schedule information including at least one of informationabout an order and information about a time of activating electronicdevices corresponding to the activation request.

Meanwhile, when the system 103 includes at least one non-intelligentelectronic device according to an example embodiment, the controller 11may control a state of the non-intelligent electronic device using acontrol device, such as a smart outlet or a switch connected to a powersupply. For example, the controller 11 may shut off or supply power tothe non-intelligent electronic device according to the scheduleinformation.

If the controller 11 does not include a control device for controllingpower supplied to non-intelligent electronic devices, the powermanagement device 100 may assume the non-intelligent electronic devicesto be in an active state. Thus, the controller 100 may determineschedule information based on predicted power consumption, the currentpower consumption of the system 103, and average power consumption ofthe non-intelligent electronic devices. Meanwhile, the average powerconsumption of the non-intelligent electronic devices may be obtained bythe controller 11 monitoring power consumption of the non-intelligentelectronic devices.

According to an example embodiment, the controller 11 may compare totalpower consumption, which is a sum of the current power consumption andthe predicted power consumption, with threshold power. In addition, thecontroller 11 may determine the threshold power based on at least one ofthe maximum power capacity of the system 103 and a safety index.

When the total power consumption of the system 103 exceeds the thresholdpower, the controller 100 may determine schedule information thatinactivates an active electronic device included in the system 103 andactivates at least one electronic device corresponding to an activationrequest, based on at least one of a priority and the usage history ofthe electronic devices 102.

According to an example embodiment, the controller 11 may compare apriority of active electronic devices in the electronic devices 102 witha priority of the electronic device corresponding to the activationrequest. The controller 11 may allocate a priority to the electronicdevices 102 included in the system 103 based on a predeterminedcriterion.

Furthermore, the controller 11 may determine schedule information toactivate the electronic device corresponding to the activation requestbased on a result of comparing the priorities.

According to an example embodiment, the controller 11 may predict a timeat which active electronic devices are inactivated based on a usagehistory of the active electronic devices and may determine scheduleinformation including the predicted time information. In more detail,the controller 11 may determine schedule information to activate atleast one electronic device corresponding to an activation request atthe predicted time.

According to an example embodiment, the controller 11 may compare apriority of active electronic devices with a priority of at least oneelectronic device corresponding to the activation request and thusinactivate one electronic device from among the active electronicdevices. For example, the controller 11 may generate a control signalfor inactivating at least one of electronic devices having a lowerpriority than a display from among the active electronic devices toactivate the display corresponding to the activation request.

Also, the controller 11 may generate a control signal for activating atleast one electronic device corresponding to an activation request, andthe communicator 12 may transmit the control signal generated by thecontroller 11 to at least one electronic device corresponding to anactivation request.

Furthermore, the controller 11 may predict a time at which theelectronic device corresponding to the activation request is inactivatedbased on a usage history of the electronic device corresponding to theactivation request. For example, the controller 11 may predict that thedisplay will be inactivated after a predetermined time (or at a specifictime) based on usage time information for each electronic device of thedisplay.

In addition, the controller 11 may use the predicted time to determineschedule information to reactivate the inactivated electronic deviceaccording to a result of comparing the priorities.

According to an example embodiment, the controller 11 may control astate of the electronic devices 102 of the system 103 based on theschedule information. For example, the controller 11 may generate acontrol signal that controls the state of the electronic devices 102based on the schedule information. Furthermore, the communicator 12 maytransmit the control signal generated by the controller 11 to theelectronic devices 102, the smart outlet, or the power supply.

According to an example embodiment, the controller 11 may update theschedule information. In more detail, the controller 11 may monitor theamount of change in power consumption of the system 103. For example,the controller 11 may determine a difference in power consumption of thesystem 103 before and after activation of at least one electronic deviceas the amount of change in power consumption of the system 103.Furthermore, the controller 11 may compare the amount of change in thepower consumption of the system 103 with predetermined predicted powerconsumption. Furthermore, the controller 11 may determine whether aresult of the comparing is within a predetermined range. For example,the controller 11 may determine a range of +10% to −10% of powerconsumption of the system 103 according to the schedule information as apredetermined range, but is not limited thereto. Furthermore, thecontroller 11 may update the schedule information if a result of thecomparing is out of the predetermined range.

According to an example embodiment, the controller 11 may comparecurrent power consumption and average power consumption of eachelectronic device to determine whether there is a defect in at least oneelectronic device. For example, the controller 11 may determine that theelectronic device is defective when the current power consumption of theat least one electronic device exceeds twice the average powerconsumption. In addition, if it is determined that the electronic deviceis defective, the controller may generate visual or auditorynotification information to indicate that the electronic device isdefective. Furthermore, the user interface unit 13 may provide a userwith the notification information generated by the controller 11.

According to an example embodiment, when the system 103 includes aplurality of power management devices, the controller 11 may controlsub-power management devices. For example, the controller 11 maydetermine schedule information using power consumption-relatedinformation of electronic devices received from the sub-power managementdevices, and may generate a control signal according to the scheduleinformation.

In addition, the controller 11 may determine schedule information basedon power consumption-related information of electronic devicescontrolled by at least one power management device received from atleast one power management device included in the system 103 through thecommunicator 12.

Furthermore, the controller 11 may control the user interface unit 13 toprovide a user interface.

The communicator 12 may include one or more components for communicatingwith at least one of the electronic devices 102 included in the system103, a power supply, a smart outlet, another power management device(e.g., a sub-power management device, etc.), and an external server.

According to an example embodiment, the communicator 12 may receive anactivation request to activate at least one electronic device includedin the system 103. For example, the communicator 12 may receive anactivation request from the electronic devices 102 included in thesystem 103. In addition, the communicator 12 may provide the receivedactivation request to the controller 11.

Furthermore, the communicator 12 may transmit a control signal toactivate or inactivate a state of the electronic devices 102 under thecontrol of the controller 11 to the electronic devices 102, the smartoutlet, or the power supply.

In addition, the communicator 12 may receive information such as theamount of monitored power consumption and power usage time from theelectronic devices 102 included in the system 103, the smart outlet, orthe power supply.

According to an example embodiment, the communicator 12 may transmitnotification information related to whether the electronic device isdefective determined by the controller 11 to a maintenance serviceproviding server of an electronic device.

According to an example embodiment, when the system 103 includes aplurality of power management devices, the communicator 12 may receivepower consumption-related information of electronic devices controlledby at least one power management device from the at least one powermanagement device. Furthermore, the communicator 12 may broadcast asignal (e.g., a beacon signal) that detects whether another powermanagement device exists or may receive a signal broadcast by anotherpower management device.

Furthermore, the communicator 12 may transmit a control signal accordingto the schedule information to a sub-power management device. Inaddition, the communicator 12 may transmit a control signal forcontrolling the sub-power management device to the sub-power managementdevice.

Furthermore, when a user interface is provided through anotherelectronic device (e.g., a mobile device of a user of the system 103),the communicator 12 may transmit or receive information necessary forproviding the user interface.

The user interface unit 13 may provide information processed by thecontroller 11 to a user. According to an example embodiment, the userinterface unit 13 may provide schedule information determined by thecontroller 11. In addition, the user interface unit 13 may provide auser with activation request list and defect notification of anelectronic device that are obtained for a predetermined period.

According to an example embodiment, the user interface unit 13 mayinclude an input device. For example, the input device may include akeypad, a dome switch, a touch pad, a jog wheel, a jog switch or thelike, but is not limited thereto. The user interface unit 13 may obtainan activation request for activating at least one electronic devicethrough a user's input. Also, the user interface unit 13 may provide theobtained activation request to the controller 11.

In addition, the user interface unit 13 may include a GUI. For example,the user interface unit 13 may provide at least one of scheduleinformation generated by the controller 11, state information of eachelectronic device, an activation request list, electronic deviceinformation, and electronic device power consumption with the GUI.Furthermore, the user interface unit 13 may provide informationrequested by a user in response to a user input to the GUI.

The output unit 14 may include at least one device for outputtingvisual, auditory and/or sensory data provided by the user interface unit13. For example, the output unit 14 may include a display unit 15, asound output unit 16, and a vibration motor (not shown).

According to an example embodiment, the display unit 15 may displayschedule information provided by the user interface unit 13. Inaddition, if it is determined that the electronic device is defective bythe controller 11, the display unit 15 may provide a visual notificationto notify the defect in the electronic device provided by the userinterface unit 13.

According to an example embodiment, if it is determined that theelectronic device is defective by the controller 11, the sound outputunit 16 may provide an auditory notification to notify the defect in theelectronic device provided by the user interface unit 13.

The example embodiments of the present invention can be written ascomputer programs and can be implemented in general-use digitalcomputers that execute the programs using a computer readable recordingmedium.

The computer readable recording medium may be a magnetic storage medium(e.g., a ROM, a floppy disk, a hard disk, etc.), an optical readingmedium (e.g., a CD ROM, a DVD or the like), and a carrier wave (e.g.,transmission over the Internet).

The example embodiments are examples, and thus, it will be understood bythose of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention. Therefore, the example embodiments should beconsidered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

1. A method of operating a power management device configured to controla state of a plurality of electronic devices included in a system, themethod comprising: obtaining an activation request to activate at leastone electronic device from among the plurality of electronic devices;predicting power consumption of the at least one electronic device; anddetermining schedule information to activate the at least one electronicdevice based on the predicted power consumption and a current powerconsumption of the system.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, if a sumof the predicted power consumption and the current power consumption ofthe system is greater than a predetermined threshold power, thedetermining of the schedule information comprises inactivating at leastone of active electronic devices included in the system and activatingthe at least one electronic device corresponding to the activationrequest based on at least one of a priority and a usage history of theplurality of electronic devices.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thedetermining of the schedule information further comprises: comparing apriority of the active electronic devices with a priority of the atleast one electronic device corresponding to the activation request andinactivating the at least one active electronic device from among theactive electronic devices; activating the at least one electronic devicecorresponding to the activation request; predicting a time when the atleast one electronic device corresponding to the activation request isinactivated based on a usage history of the at least one electronicdevice corresponding to the activation request; and determining scheduleinformation to reactivate the at least one inactivated electronic deviceaccording to a result of comparing the priorities by using the predictedtime.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: when the systemincludes at least one other power management device, receiving powerconsumption-related information of electronic devices managed by the atleast one other power management device from the at least one otherpower management device, wherein the determining of the scheduleinformation comprises: determining the schedule information based onpower consumption of the electronic devices managed by the at least oneother power management device, the predicted power consumption, and thecurrent power consumption of the system.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: transmitting, to the at least one electronic device,a control signal for activating the at least one electronic device,based on the schedule information.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: monitoring a variation of the current power consumption ofthe system when the at least one electronic device is activated;comparing the variation with the predicted power consumption; anddetermining whether to update the schedule information according to aresult of the comparing.
 7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:comparing current power consumption and average power consumption of theat least one electronic device; determining occurrence of a defect inthe at least one electronic device according to a result of thecomparing; and providing notification information on the occurrence ofthe defect according to a result of the determining.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: when the system includes at least onenon-intelligent electronic device, obtaining power consumption of thenon-intelligent electronic devices, wherein the determining of theschedule information comprises: determining the schedule informationbased on the power consumption of the non-intelligent electronicdevices, the predicted power consumption, and the current powerconsumption of the system.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:providing a user interface including the schedule information of the atleast one electronic device corresponding to the activation request. 10.The method of claim 9, further comprising: updating the scheduleinformation in response to a user input through the user interface. 11.A power management device configured to control a state of a pluralityof electronic devices included in a system, the power management devicecomprising: a communicator configured to receive an activation requestto activate at least one electronic device from among the plurality ofelectronic devices; and a controller configured to predict powerconsumption of the at least one electronic device, and determineschedule information to activate the at least one electronic devicebased on the predicted power consumption and current power consumptionof the system.
 12. The power management device of claim 11, wherein, ifa sum of the predicted power consumption and the current powerconsumption of the system is greater than a predetermined thresholdpower, the controller is further configured to inactivate at least oneof active electronic devices included in the system and activate the atleast one electronic device corresponding to the activation requestbased on at least one of a priority and a usage history of the pluralityof electronic devices.
 13. The power management device of claim 12,wherein the controller is further configured to compare a priority ofthe active electronic devices with a priority of at least one electronicdevice corresponding to the activation request and inactivate the atleast one active electronic device from among the active electronicdevices, activate the at least one electronic device corresponding tothe activation request, predict a time when the electronic devicecorresponding to the activation request is inactivated based on a usagehistory of the at least one electronic device corresponding to theactivation request, and determine schedule information to reactivate theat least one inactivated electronic device according to a result ofcomparing the priorities by using the predicted time.
 14. The powermanagement device of claim 11, further comprising: a user interface unitconfigured to provide the schedule information of the at least oneelectronic device corresponding to the activation request.
 15. Anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recordedthereon a program for operating a power management device configured tocontrol a state of a plurality of electronic devices included in asystem, the program including code that, when executed by a processor ofthe power management device, causes the power management device to:obtain an activation request to activate at least one electronic devicefrom among the plurality of electronic devices; predict powerconsumption of the at least one electronic device; and determineschedule information to activate the at least one electronic devicebased on the predicted power consumption and a current power consumptionof the system.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable recording mediumof claim 15, wherein the code that, when executed by the processor ofthe power management device, causes the power management device todetermine of the schedule information comprises code that, when executedby the processor of the power management device, causes the powermanagement device to inactivate, if a sum of the predicted powerconsumption and the current power consumption of the system is greaterthan a predetermined threshold power, at least one of active electronicdevices included in the system and activate the at least one electronicdevice corresponding to the activation request based on at least one ofa priority or a usage history of the plurality of electronic devices.17. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 16,wherein the code that, when executed by the processor of the powermanagement device, causes the power management device to determine ofthe schedule information comprises code that, when executed by theprocessor of the power management device, causes the power managementdevice to: compare a priority of the active electronic devices with apriority of the at least one electronic device corresponding to theactivation request and inactivating the at least one active electronicdevice from among the active electronic devices; activate the at leastone electronic device corresponding to the activation request; predict atime when the at least one electronic device corresponding to theactivation request is inactivated based on a usage history of the atleast one electronic device corresponding to the activation request; anddetermine schedule information to reactivate the at least oneinactivated electronic device according to a result of comparing thepriorities by using the predicted time.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium of claim 15, wherein: the programfurther includes code that, when executed by the processor of the powermanagement device, causes the power management device to receive, whenthe system includes at least one other power management device, powerconsumption-related information of electronic devices managed by the atleast one other power management device from the at least one otherpower management device, the code that, when executed by the processorof the power management device causes the power management device todetermine of the schedule information comprises code that, when executedby the processor of the power management device causes the powermanagement device to determine the schedule information based on powerconsumption of the electronic devices managed by the at least one otherpower management device, the predicted power consumption, and thecurrent power consumption of the system.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium of claim 15, wherein the programfurther includes code that, when executed by the processor of the powermanagement device, causes the power management device to transmit, tothe at least one electronic device, a control signal for activating theat least one electronic device, based on the schedule information. 20.The power management device of claim 11, wherein: the communicator isfurther configured to receive, when the system includes at least oneother power management device, power consumption-related information ofelectronic devices managed by the at least one other power managementdevice from the at least one other power management device, and thecontroller is further configured to determine the schedule informationbased on power consumption of the electronic devices managed by the atleast one other power management device, the predicted powerconsumption, and the current power consumption of the system.